Pearson's field goal gives Stillwater the win!

This is on line today in The Minneapolis Star Tribune in High School Football!

SO PROUD of my little brother!!

Thanks to my dad I watched it all via SKYPE! :)

Pearson's field goal gives Stillwater the win

09/09/2011, 10:09am (CDT)

By Justin Magill, MN Football Hub correspondent

Ponies get a big road win over White Bear Lake as time expires.

With the game knotted at 14 apiece, all Sam Pearson had to do was hit a 27-yard field goal and Stillwater would leave White Bear Lake with a victory and a 2-0 record in the Suburban East Conference (SEC).

After Ponies running back Nick Anderson squeezed out three yards on a rush up the middle and centered the ball for Pearson, the senior kicker trotted out with 3 seconds left in the fourth quarter and was about to send his teammates off with a three-point win.

Timeout.

Before Stillwater could get the snap off, the Bears called a timeout to try and ice Pearson.

“I actually love it,” Pearson said. “It gives me time to relax, catch my breath, lower my heart rate and get ready. As much time as I can get, I will take it.”

He did just that as Pearson was able to get the ball well over the outstretched arms of Bears defenders and sneak the ball inside the left post for a 17-14 victory as time expired.

“Amazing,” Pearson said. “This is what you prepare for. I do this for two hours a day, but I am not alone. It was a perfect snap, perfect hold and I was able to get a clean look at it.

“There isn’t words to describe the feeling of having your long time friends coming at you, screaming your name. Honestly, it's unexplainable.”

For more than a month now, Pearson has been preparing himself for a chance like he had against White Bear Lake, to win the game in the closing seconds.

“I mentally visualize and put myself in a game situation while I am at practice,” he said. “That is all it is. Trying to get used to the pressure. I put myself under my own kind of mental pressure almost kind of matchup and compensate for the game.”

However, no matter how much time he puts in or how much pressure, nothing compares to what happens in the game.

Under the lights on a warm Friday night and the stands were full on the opposition’s side.

“It’s always different, no matter how much practice,” he said. “It’s always different when it comes down to it.”

On the final drive, Stillwater started from its own 39 and was able to get down to the Bears 10 on 11 plays, all on the ground.

Getting inside the red zone was important for Ponies coach Beau LaBore making the call to send out the kicking unit.

“Anything inside 35 yards I feel comfortable with,” he said. “I didn’t want to have to use him, he has been a little shaky, but he knows that he is going to get some opportunities, make a break situations and I am proud of him because he stepped up and made it through with no problem.

“He was very confident when they froze him and he just made it through nice and easy.”

Ricci adapting quickly to leadership role

For the second straight week, quarterback Nate Ricci was a force for the Ponies offense.

On top of having the ability to tuck the ball and run, Ricci has shown that he can air it out for Stillwater as well.

After the Ponies were stuck deep in their own zone after a poor kickoff return to start the game, Ricci was able to lead Stillwater to a touchdown which was capped off by a 23-yard strike to Charlie Register.

“He is a great athlete,” LaBore said. “For the first time, he is in a leadership role and he has handled it all really well.”

In the third quarter with Stillwater down 14-7, Ricci used his legs to roll out to his right and find Joshua Weess for a 15-yard touchdown.

It ended a 70-yard scoring drive that took only four plays and more importantly, it was right after White Bear Lake took a seven point lead.

 “Those drives were critical,” LaBore said. “The defense picked up the offense several times, but the offense really picked up the defense there and it was a great balance.

“There were plenty of times that the home team had some momentum going for them, but we were able to handle it well because of our balance.”

It has been a while

 It has now been seven years since White Bear Lake beat Stillwater. 

In 2004 the Bears beat the Ponies 24-14 and will now have to wait until at least the postseason to beat them again.

This was the first time the Bears had a decent shot of beating Stillwater since 2006, when White Bear Lake came within six points.

“It was a shame someone had to lose,” Bears coach Bob Jackson said. “We lost, we will bounce back and we will find the true character of this team.

“It was just a great high school football game and it’s tough someone had to lose, more so us.”

After an impressive 28-13 road win to open the season at Roseville, White Bear Lake put together a solid offensive performance, but two costly fumbles ended possible scoring drives, the second was deep in the Ponies zone and an opportunity to go up two scores.

“Those hurt us a bit,” Jackson said. “We did that from time to time and it ended up being a difference in the game.”

White Bear Lake will have to get back up quickly after the tough loss to Stillwater.

A glance at its schedule, it misses Cretin-Derham Hall, but still on it is Mounds View, Woodbury and what many SEC coaches have said, an up and coming Forest Lake team.

“Problem is I think it’s going to be like this every week,” Jackson said. “Teams are pretty good and well balanced, so it will not get any easier.”

Game Recap

 Stillwater opened the game with an impressive nine play scoring drive that accumulated 91 yards and concluded with a Charlie Register touchdown catch from 23-yards out.

Later in the first quarter, Ridge Sackman tied the score for the Bears when he plunged in from the five.

It remained a 7-7 game at halftime, but White Bear Lake took the lead right away in the third quarter when quarterback Eric Gebeke kept the ball on an option and ran in for another five-yard score.

However, Stillwater answered right back when Nate Ricci recorded his second touchdown pass of the game, connecting with Joshua Weess from 15 yards out to tie the game.

That tying drive was highlighted by a 40-yard run by Zach Krenz, which was the previous play before Ricci hit Weess for the score.

With 4 minutes, 45 seconds left in the game, Stillwater had the ball on its own 39 yard line.

It used 11 plays and nearly the rest of the clock to set up Sam Pearson with a chance to send the Ponies home with a game-winning field goal.

From 27-yards out, Pearson nailed it as time expired and the Ponies improved to 2-0 (2-0 SEC).

It will play Cretin-Derham Hall Friday, Sept. 16 at Pony Stadium.

White Bear Lake falls to 1-1 (1-1 SEC) and will host Forest Lake on Friday, Sept. 16.

Three Stars

 1. Sam Pearson, Stillwater

With all the pressure that a high school kicker could handle, Pearson drilled home a 27-yard field goal for the win. White Bear Lake called a timeout, but Pearson used the time to collect himself and get settled for the game-winning kick.

2. Nate Ricci, Stillwater

He is only a junior, but he has shown he can use his legs and arm to lead the Ponies offense. He tossed two more touchdown passes against the Bears and was a force when he tucked and ran. He will need to do more of that next week against Cretin-Derham Hall.

3. Eric Gebeke, White Bear Lake

Gebeke did what Bears quarterbacks are supposed to do in their offensive system. He ran the ball, using his speed as a great asset. On top of scoring a touchdown from five-yards out, he picked up several first downs with his legs and was able to show confidence throwing the ball, even though he didn't connect with a lot of them. That at least took some pressure off of the running game.